Fallen
by bulletproof trucker hats
Summary: When Sesshomaru finds his brother's miko in the snow, broken and bleeding, will he save her?
1. In the Snow

He found her in the snow. He saw the blood first, crimson red startling against the pure white.

And then he saw _her_, her black hair spread around her head like a dark halo. She was beautiful, and the first thought that occurred to him was…

'_She's a fallen angel.'_

But, then, sensibility kicked in.

For the Lord Sesshomaru did not believe in angels.

She looked vaguely familiar. '_InuYasha's wench.' _Sesshomaru thought. _'How…unlike him to leave his pet miko unattended.'_

On impulse, he bent, and picked her up, bridal style, ignoring the warm blood that immediately soaked his sleeves. _'I can use her to retrieve the Tetsusaiga from the half-breed.' _he told himself.

***~~~*** Time skip, The Palace of the Moon ***~~~***

"Lord Sesshomaru, you're back!" Rin exclaimed, bouncing up to the taiyoukai. "Rin went and picked flowers, and had a tea party with Lord Jaken, and- What's wrong with the pretty lady, Lord Sesshomaru?"

"Put her in one of the guest rooms, and see that she gets medical attention." Sesshomaru ordered a nearby servant, handing the ningen woman to him. Then, the great lord of the West knelt to eye level with Rin. "She's rather ill, but we'll help her to get better." he told the small child.

Rin gave him a gap-toothed smile, and hugged him. "Is she going to be Rin's new mommy?" she asked.

The servant, who Sesshomaru had given the miko to, stopped dead, hand on the door. Sesshomaru glared at him, and he hurried on his way.

"No, Rin." Sesshomaru replied. "She is simply visiting."

***~~~***

_**Message from Goth Lolita!**_

_Read and review! I'll update once I get…hmmmm…ten is a good number, right? I'll update once I get 10 reviews! The next chapter is all written out, so REVIEW!!!_


	2. In the Palace of the Moon

**_Message from Goth Lolita!_**

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I figured that eight was close enough!  
_

_Tigermage_

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_soulspirit19_

_iAweshum_

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_Lia _

_Axel's Pyro Girl_

_TheFanOfEverything _(Love your name, by the way.)

_Now, please enjoy the next chapter of 'Fallen'!_

***~~~***_  
_

Kagome opened her eyes, which in itself was kind of surprising. The last thing she remembered was running to the well, through the snow, and InuYasha…InuYasha had…

A door opened, distracting her. A little girl peaked in. "Oh, yay! You're awake!" she exclaimed, running in. "The healers said you might not, but Rin came to check anyway!" She lowered her voice confidentially. "Rin is not supposed to be here. I'm Rin."

Kagome stared at the girl. She looked familiar… "Ummm…I'm Kagome. Can you tell me where I am, Rin?"

"You are in the Palace of the Moon." a new voice said. It was male, deep and baritone, and Kagome felt as it she had heard it somewhere before. "Rin, why don't you go see what Jaken is doing?"

Rin skipped out of the room, leaving Kagome alone with…

The Aristocratic Assassin, the Killing Perfection, the Lord of the Western Lands, Lord Sesshomaru.

She froze, staring into those merciless golden eyes. And she knew she was going to die.

***~~~*** Kinda Sesshy POV ***~~~***

The woman- Kagome, she'd called herself- stiffened when she noticed him. Sesshomaru could _smell_ her fear. '_She probably thinks this Sesshomaru is going to kill her._' he though dispassionately.

He didn't really care if she was terrified or not, but it would be easier if she knew what was going on.

"You are InuYasha's wench?" ha asked. He was almost _certain_ it was her, but then again, _all_ ningen looked alike to him.

To his surprise, anger sparked in her eyes, eyes a startling cerulean blue he had never seen before.

"My name is _Kagome_. Ka- Go- Me!" she snapped.

"This Sesshomaru does not care what you name is, _Ka-Go-Me_." he said, turning her name into an insult. "This Sesshomaru simply wants to know if he can return you to get what is rightfully his."

She paled, and the scent of her terror spiked. "The Tetsusaiga…You want to give me back to InuYasha for the Tetsusaiga…" she whispered in a choked voice.

He allowed himself a smirk. "Of course. What _else _do you think this Sesshomaru would do with a ningen?"

She drew her knees up to her chest, looking rather defenseless and vulnerable.

Sesshomaru's predatory nature found it oddly appealing.

"No." she said quietly. "I can't go back…I _won't_ go back." She looked up at him, blue eyes clashing with gold, and Sesshomaru was intrigued by the determination he saw there. "I'll kill myself before I go back."

'_What happened to the onna?_' Sesshomaru wondered, but aloud, he said, "This Sesshomaru would simply bring you back to life with his Tenseiga."

"Then I'd kill myself _again_." she said, voice steely. "And again, and again, and again, until you get tired of bring me back."

"We'll see." Sesshomaru replied. "There is a knife in the drawer of you bedside table, onna. Kill yourself if you must, though this Sesshomaru suspects you lack the strength to do so."

With those lovely words of encouragement, he turned, leaving the miko alone.

***~~~***


	3. Soul Sharing

_**Message from Goth Lolita!**_

_Well, I had this typed up, and I had some extra time on my hands, so here you go!_

_To _soulspirit18_- If you're a rabid InuxKago fan, you are destined to be disappointed in my story. And you get to know what he did in this chapter._

_To_ Tigermage- _I am _not_ going to tell you what happens! Do you skip to the end of mystery books, too? XD just kidding...But seriously, not gonna tell you._

_Enjoy!_

***~~~***

_**NOW...**  
_

Several days later, Sesshomaru decided to check on InuYasha's wench, to make sure she hadn't killed herself yet.

He walked in just as the healers were changing her bandages. His golden eyes widened slightly, when he saw how bad the damage actually was.

The woman- Kagome- was lying on her stomach, tears silently running down her face. And there, on her back, already beginning to scar, were his brother's claw marks.

A hiss of breath escaped from the ningen woman, and the healers winced in sympathy.

"_Why_?" Sesshomaru didn't realize he had spoken out loud, but he was curious. His brother had seemed so _loyal_, so…dog-ishly devoted to this girl. What would have made him harm her?

Kagome had looked up at his voice. Her eyes were bitter and worn. "Because, he loves _Kikyo_. It's _always_ been Kikyo. All _I _was, was her pale replacement. I'd _never _be better that_ her_." Her voice matched her eyes; tired, and hurt. "And when Kikyo decided that she was tired of having only half her soul, she wanted it _all_ returned to her…" she trailed off.

Sesshomaru was shocked. Not that it _showed_, mind you. He wasn't surprised at InuYasha's betrayal- oh, _please_, even _Jaken_ saw _that_ coming- but that this _ningen_ shared the soul of the dead miko.

This was almost entirely unheard of, and, usually, one or both of the two involved died.

Well, quite technically, Kikyo was _already_ dead.

But, what of this girl, this…Kagome?

Sesshomaru discretely sniffed the air. No, she was alive, but, she must be extraordinarily powerful to have survived- to _still_ be surviving.

A thought struck him. "You are a miko?" he asked. He knew the answer, but he wanted her to confirm it- needed to hear her say it, so he could resolve his mental image of her.

"Yes." she replied shortly.

'_Yet, she travels with my pathetic half-brother, and if memory serves…a kitsune kit. And the Lord of the Wolves, that Koga, has claimed her as his own._' Sesshomaru thought. '_She must be strong…but how odd, that such a powerful miko treats youkai the way she does.'_

Without another word, he left her.

But his mind was made up.

The miko wouldn't be returning to his half-brother.

Not yet. Not until her verified his story.

***~~~***

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	4. Lost

Sesshomaru watched his brother's small pack from the darkened shelter of the trees.

There was the taijia woman, and the monk, along with the fire neko and the kitsune kit, on one side of the pitiful campfire. InuYasha and his dead miko were on the other.

Even Sesshomaru, with his limited contact with the group, could tell all was not well within this pack.

"When did you say Lady Kagome would return from her realm, InuYasha?" the monk asked.

InuYasha shrugged. "You know how she is, monk. Kagome likes to take her time. She might not come back at all, if I didn't go get her."

He was lying. Even if the two ningen in the group couldn't tell, Sesshomaru could, and both the kit and the neko looked at the silver-haired hanyou suspiciously.

"How would we find the shard without her?!" the taijia exclaimed.

"I am _more_ than capable of doing a better job than my reincarnation." Kikyo said. She smiled, but it was weak and brittle, as if her face was unused to the movement.

Sesshomaru might have stayed to hear more, but at that moment, he caught the faintest reek of Naraku. It was too weak for InuYasha to catch it, with his dull, hanyou nose, but Sesshomaru, being the badass, superior taiyoukai he is, _did_ smell it.

And the stench was coming from the direction of the Palace of the Moon.

Nearly as fast as thought, Sesshomaru stood at the gates of his home. They were twisted and warped now, a foreshadowing of what he would find inside.

Sesshomaru walked in, ignoring the scores of dead and dying, both enemy, and his own servants. There would be time enough to deal with them later.

But, Sesshomaru understood Naraku, perhaps better than he'd like to admit.

No, not like _that_, you pervert.

The evil hanyou would go directly for Rin. He knew that targeting his young ward would enrage Sesshomaru the most, make him more likely to make mistakes.

When Sesshomaru burst into the room he smelled Naraku in, an unexpected sight met his eyes.

Rin was hiding behind the miko.

And the miko, bleeding from wounds that had reopened, faced down Naraku.

"Kukuku, welcome, Lord Sesshomaru." Naraku chuckled. "However did you get a hold on the little miko?"

Sesshomaru, in classic Sesshomaru-style, ignored the question, and replied with one of his own. "Why are you here, Naraku?"

"I've come for the little miko." the evil hanyou answered. "Imagine my surprise, when my Saimyosho informed me that she was_ here_, of all places. _Whatever _have you two been up to?" He raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"This Sesshomaru has no interest in the miko." Sesshomaru told Naraku coldly. "Take her, and leave this Sesshomaru's castle."

The miko turned from Naraku now, to stare at him. There was horror in her blue eyes, and fear. But, there was betrayal there, too, and some other emotion he couldn't place.

Naraku had her wrapped in his arms in an instant. She shuddered at his touch, and Sesshomaru had the fleeting urge to rescue her, to tear her out of the filthy hanyou's grasp, to save her…

But that moment of weakness passed quickly.

Naraku gave a mocking bow to the Lord of the Western Lands. "My thanks to you, Lord Sesshomaru." he said, as he walked out, the miko forcibly in tow.

Rin ran to Sesshomaru, hugging him tightly. He could feel her trembling.

Rin was safe. That was all that should matter.

So why did Sesshomaru feel as though he had lost?


	5. Koaru

**_Message from Goth Lolita!_**

_Thanks to all for your reviews! The entire story is typed now, and all I have to do is upload it all! I'm thinking a chapter a day, except on weekends. And maybe even then._

_To_ Tigermage_: I don't know about the people reading it, but that's how _I_ think. I can make a perverted comment out of anything. No, this is not something I should be proud of. But I am._

_To _iAweshum_: Haha, I loved your two comments in a row. Glad to keep you guessing!_

_And now, enjoy the next chapter of 'Fallen'!_

***~~~***_  
_

Kagome sat crying, in one of the cells of Naraku's manor. It was cold, but the cold didn't matter. White-hot pain flared to life every time she even_ thought_ about moving.

At least she didn't have to worry about the cuts on her back getting infected, or reopening.

They had been cauterized.

Kagome had been branded with the mark of Onigumo. She belonged to Naraku now.

Kagura, who stood guard outside her cell, looked in at the girl, with something akin to pity. The miko was just as trapped as she was, and Kagura knew better than anyone, that once Naraku had his hold on you, he _never_ let you go.

And, in his chambers, attended by Kanna, Naraku laughed maliciously.

The purest being ever to walk among mortals was his at last.

***~~~*** One Month Later ***~~~***

Naraku went to visit his captured prize. It wasn't the first time he's done so- hell, it wasn't even the fourth. And every time he went, he had the same offer.

"Now, my dear little miko, are you tired of remembering yet?"

For he would love nothing better than if he could wipe her mind clean, to remold the miko in his own twisted image.

The answer he received was always the same.

"_Never_."

But, _today_, when Naraku entered his dungeon, he sensed that something was different.

There was no more hope in the miko. She was desolate and full of despair.

He asked. "Now, my dear little miko, are you tired of remembering yet?"

And she said…

"Yes."

Kagome was broken. She had been betrayed by InuYasha. She had been betrayed by Sesshomaru- and that hurt all the more, because she should have expected nothing less from _him_. Miroku, Sango, Kirara, Koga- hell, even _Shippo_. None of them had rescued her.

Perhaps it would be better _not_ to remember.

Naraku knelt before her, and placed a hand on her forehead.

Kagome had a brief moment of doubt…

Before she forgot everything.

***~~~*** POV change-ish ***~~~***

The girl opened her eyes. She was in a dark cell with a man.

'_Naraku…_' her mind supplied.

"Who am…_I_?" she asked out loud.

Naraku studied her intently. "You don't remember?" he mused.

"No." she shook her head. "All I remember is…_you_, Lord Naraku."

He smiled. "You are…Koaru. We work together."

'_Koaru._' she repeated in her mind. Something sounded _off_ about the name.

"We are collecting pieces of the Shikon no Tama, to keep it out of the hands of those that would use it for evil." Naraku told her.

_That_ part, at least, sounded familiar. But still, something wasn't quite right… Koaru's brain produced a flash of silver and gold. It barely registered, before it disappeared.

"Who is Inu…Yasha?" She didn't know where the name had come from, only that it went with the image.

Naraku's face darkened. "InuYasha is our enemy." he snapped. "You were lucky enough to escape from him."

"We've met?"

"Yes. It's thanks to him that your memory is like this." Naraku said. "He covets you, for you remind him of his lover, the dead miko, Kikyo."

"Dead?"

"Now a reanimated corpse."

"Ewww."

"Indeed."

"But…you protect me, Master Naraku?" she asked, hesitantly. The words did not sound true.

He smirked. "Of _course_, Koaru-chan. We are _partners_, after all."

The way he ran his eyes over her made it clear that they were 'partners', in more than one sense of the word.

"_Why_ can't I remember, Master Naraku?" she asked suddenly.

He drew closer to her. "Let me remind you…" he whispered.

There was no pity in his gaze, only triumph, and a strange possessive glint, when he looked at her.

He drew her into a rough kiss. "_Mine_." he murmured. "I'll _never_ let that filthy hanyou get his hands on you."

Koaru felt a flare of panic.

But that was _silly. _

Naraku would protect her.

He'd keep her safe.

He'd help her to remember.

So, why was she so afraid when she looked into his red eyes?


	6. Weakness

Sesshomaru was attracted by the sounds of battle. He'd been following his half-brother's pack, for reasons he himself could not fathom. He never let them even sense his presence.

And then he caught the scent. The miko's scent, mixed with Naraku's foul taint. He heard the clash of weapons. And, suddenly, he smelled InuYasha's blood.

Pouring on the taiyoukai speed, Sesshomaru appeared, almost instantly, on the edge of the clearing.

There was Naraku, with the taijia boy Rin had grown so attached to, and…

His brother's miko.

But she was changed.

Gone was the indecent kimono she'd worn while in his brother's pack. Now, she wore a twisted, torn parody of a miko's garb in pure black. She had the same blank expression as the taijia boy. And she now, wielded a katana.

The taijia girl had a tear down her sleeve, obviously from her brother's sickle-chain. InuYasha had a sluggishly bleeding chest wound. From the blood dripping off her blade, she'd been the one to inflict it.

Naraku noticed him. "Ah, Lord Sesshomaru, you've arrived." the evil hanyou greeted him. "Here to see the death of your dear brother's pathetic pack?"

Sesshomaru didn't deign to reply. Instead, he turned, and began to walk away.

"I wouldn't leave just yet, Lord Sesshomaru." Naraku called after him. "There's someone here who wants to see you _very_ much."

Suddenly, Rin's scent joined the others. Sesshomaru whirled, to see his ward cradled in Naraku's arms.

"So, the _great_ taiyoukai, the Aristocratic Assassin, the _glorious_ Lord Sesshomaru's weakness…is a filthy ningen girl-child." he sneered.

That was going _much_ too far.

Sesshomaru rushed the dark hanyou, golden eyes bleeding red.

Mere _inches_ from ripping open Naraku's throat, and snatching Rin, a lithe figure stepped between them.

Sesshomaru paid no attention to them, concentrating solely on Naraku.

A mistake, as it turned out.

The sharp, icy point of a katana, still stained with his brother's blood, pricked his windpipe.

Sesshomaru froze. Taiyoukai or not, even _he_ couldn't survive if that sword slipped.

The miko stood before him, eyes blank, face emotionless.

"Onna. _Move_." he ordered, voice a snarl.

She stayed where she was.

"Surprised, Lord Sesshomaru?" Naraku asked. "My little miko is as loyal to me, as she used to be towards your half-breed brother. Isn't that right, _Koaru_?"

"Of course, Master Naraku." the girl replied dully.

"And just _think_, Lord Sesshomaru, you have only _yourself_ to blame. _You_ let her go, after all."

"Kagome was with _that_ bastard?!" InuYasha yelled, shocked.

"I found her, after _you_ tired of her, brother." Sesshomaru replied coldly. "Bleeding in the snow, with _your_ claws on her back."

"What?!" the taijia girl whirled on InuYasha. "You _bastard_!"

He held his hands up in weak protest. "He's making it up, Sango!"

"_Really_, InuYasha?" the monk asked. "What reason would Lord Sesshomaru have to do that?"

Perhaps you wonder why Naraku was letting them have this conversation.

Sesshomaru did.

When he looked back up the evil hanyou, he-along with Kohaku, Kagome, and _Rin_- was gone.

_That _had been his plan all along. To use Sesshomaru to sow the seeds of discord among his brother's pack.

And he had fallen for it.

Who was he turning into?

InuYasha?

He shuddered, horror at the thought of fluffy ears atop his head momentarily overcoming his worry for Rin, and fury at Naraku.

Kami forbid.


	7. A Favor and A Hug

It was several weeks after Naraku's grand deception.

The clay-pot miko had succeeded in dragging his foolish brother to hell.

The monk and the taijia girl were still searching for Naraku. They had to. They were the only ones left to, out of the Inu Gumi.

Rin was still in Naraku's tainted clutches.

Which was the reason Sesshomaru hunted today.

Naraku's incarnations and various servants were out in considerable force, perhaps because InuYasha was gone, and Naraku felt that he had nothing to fear from those of his enemies that remained.

Sesshomaru was going to prove the bastard hanyou wrong. He was going to get one of Naraku's detachments alone, and, if necessary, torture the information he required out of them.

Apparently, the Fates approved of this mission.

In a gust of wind, the witch, Kagura, descended before him. He tensed, ready to act.

And then, Rin peaked out from behind the wind witch. "Lord Sesshomaru!" she cried, catching sight of him.

He was silent, watching Naraku's second-born. The little girl ran to him. Kagura did nothing to stop her.

Sesshomaru was forcibly reminded of another time, when he'd been just as confused as he was now. With the miko, when he saw her wounds. His question was the same now.

"Why?"

Kagura shrugged. "Call it a favor. Perhaps one day, I'll call on you to return it." She lifted into the air on her feather, and she was gone.

Sesshomaru wasted a single moment watching her leave, making sure it wasn't a trick, before turning his attention to the child currently attached to his leg.

"Rin, are you hurt?"

The girl shook her head. "No, Lord Sesshomaru. Lady Kagome took care of Rin." She frowned. "But Lady Kagome says her name isn't Lady Kagome. She says that she is Lady Koaru…Why is Lady Kagome with that mean man, Lord Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru didn't reply, simply holding the girl tighter.

Oh, how _scandalized_ Jaken would be if he could see them now. The great Lord Sesshomaru, indulging in such a un-noble, ningen activity as a _hug_.

Ah, the _impropriety._


	8. Remember

The next time Sesshomaru saw his brother's- No, _Naraku's_- miko, she was trying to slaughter the Lord of the Wolves.

To anyone who'd ever even _heard_ of her, it was a sigh of how far she was under Naraku's control.

From what Sesshomaru had gathered, even though she hadn't wanted the wolf, she had _always_ been unfailingly polite to him.

And now, she leapt at him, her katana glittering coldly in the sunlight.

It was obvious Koga didn't _want_ to hurt her. He dodged, instead of striking back. Avoided the miko, instead of fighting.

From the way she attacked, it was also obvious the miko was after the shards in the wolf's legs.

"Kagome, what are you _doing_?!" Koga yelped, as her blade bit into his flesh. "You're my _woman_, you can't betray me!"

Kagome laughed coldly. "I was _never_ your woman, wolf. I am Master Naraku's."

Koga gaped at her. "Na-NARAKU'S?!?"

His astonished horror gave her the chance to tackle him to the ground. Straddling the wolf's prone form, Kagome placed her katana under his jawbone. With the right amount of pressure, it would kill him.

Wolf youkai do not fear death.

They do not beg for their lives.

Sesshomaru was impressed with the young wolf, despite himself.

Koga simply looked up at Kagome, a look of immeasurable sorrow crossing his face. "Goodbye, Kagome." he whispered, reaching up to cup her cheek.

She was amazed, a little confused, and, most predominately, annoyed.

"Why does everyone keep _calling_ me that?"

Koga didn't look a gift miko in the mouth, scrambling away while she was otherwise distracted.

"Kagome?" he asked, from a safe distance away, of course. "Because it's you _name_."

She actually stomped her foot, reminding Sesshomaru of nothing more than _Rin_, throwing one of her very rare tantrums

"No, it's _not_! My name is _Koaru_! Ko-Ar-U! Koaru!"

She sank to her knees, a single tear running down her face.

Koga took a hesitant step towards her. "Kago- I mean, Koaru. Are you alright?"

"_Run_, wolf." she whispered. "Run, before I decide I _do_ feel like killing you."

Koga didn't need to be told twice. Barely looking back, he fled.

And InuYasha said that _he_ was the stupid one?

Excuse me, remind me. _Who_ is _rotting in hell _with his dead girlfriend, and _who _is _running away_ from the girl that will send him to hell?

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Moving right along, then.

Sesshomaru revealed himself then, leaning against the trunk of a conveniently near-by tree. "Why didn't you kill him, onna?"

She didn't look up. "Because…" She shook her head. "Just for an instant…I _remembered_."

***~~~*** Timeskip, Naraku's manor ***~~~***

"So, dear little miko…" Naraku began.

Koaru didn't let it show, but she was afraid. Naraku only called her that when he was truly furious.

"You return with _nothing_. No shards. Not even the head of that flea-bitten wolf. What do you have to say for yourself, dear little miko?"

"Nothing, Master Naraku." she murmured.

His hand moved. Koaru flinched, but he merely reached out to brush her hair with his fingertips.

"Surely, you must have _some_ excuse." he said, voice kind.

She bowed her head. "No, Master Naraku."

His gentle caress turned harsh. Hand twined in dark strands of her hair, he forced her to look back up at him.

His red eyes sparked with anger.

"You are_ useless_." he hissed. "I thought perhaps you might hold _some_ value to me. But I see now I was wrong. Dear little miko, you are better off _dead."_

He kissed her then, and she relaxed a moment, thinking herself safe.

And then, his miasma entered her, through her mouth, from his.

She screamed, trying to pull away, but he merely held her tighter.

Finally, though, he let go of her.

But by then, it was too late.

Far, far too late.


	9. Fallen Angel

He found her in the snow. There was no blood this time, but his thought went to the same place.

'_She's a fallen angel._'

But then, sensibility kicked in.

For the Lord Sesshomaru did not believe in angels.

She was simply a girl. A frail, weak, girl. A ningen girl, gone in one breath from a youkai mouth.

A dead girl, now.

He was about to continue on his way, when her eyes flickered open, revealing that deep blue. "Please…" she whispered. "please…take me to the Bone Eater's Well…"

Sesshomaru knew the place. It was close to where his foolish brother had lost fifty years of his pathetic life. But why would the dying miko want to go _there_?

"Miko-" he began, but she cut him off.

"_Kagome_. Ka-Go-" she broke off, coughing.

Her extremities- her ears, her lips, her fingertips- were already beginning to turn blue. So, Sesshomaru decided to give the ningen girl- _Kagome_, as she insisted on reminding him- her last wish.

He scooped her up, and cradling her close to his body, they took off towards InuYasha's Forest, and the Bone Eater's Well.

***~~~***

"We are here, mik- Kagome." Sesshomaru said. His warmth seemed to be doing her good, for she seemed a bit more lucid.

"Throw me in." she murmured.

Alright, apparently, not _that_ lucid.

"Have you always been mad, miko?" Sesshomaru demanded.

She laughed, a harsh sound. "It'd take far too long to explain, and I've not a lot of time left. Throw. Me. In."

"This Sesshomaru will do better. This Sesshomaru will take you to the bottom of the well himself."

And, ignoring her feeble protests, he gracefully leaped in. Which is when something completely unexpected happened.

The well glowed with an ethereal white light, and Kagome began to dissolve into silvery sparkles. Sesshomaru looked at the girl, in wonder.

"Well, _this_ is new." she commented, before she disappeared completely.

The light winked out, and Sesshomaru slammed into the ground.

***~~~*** 500 Years Later ***~~~***

Naraku was dead. Rin had mated the kitsune, Shippo. They were expecting their first kit. Sesshomaru was one of the richest people in the world, either ningen _or_ youkai.

And yet, he still dreamed of his brother's miko…Kagome. It had been five hundred years, since she'd…died?

There had never been a body. But she was gone. Simply gone.

Sesshomaru needed to clear his mind. His dismissed Jaken, now his chauffer. "Go home." he told the faithful, green toad-thing. "This Sesshomaru has no need of you services this night."

He began walking, as the first icy, white flakes fell from the sky.

He glared at the snow in displeasure. It wasn't that he would be _cold_- cold was for _ningen_, after all- but if it iced over, he might slip.

Unlikely, but Sesshomaru hadn't survived the Sengoku Jidaii by being careless, and it was simply the _principle_ of the matter.

Besides, the snow reminded him of _her_.

He ducked down an alley, a short cut to his home. He didn't notice the petite figure, until he crashed into it.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, mister!" the woman said, bowing slightly.

"My fault." he assured her. "My apologies, Miss…"

"Higurashi." she told him, turning her back on him to look back at the sky.

For some reason, her casual dismissal irked him. "What is a respectable young woman, like yourself, doing alone, in an alley, at night?" he asked. "You're lucky I am not the kind of person who would do something untoward to you."

"I _was_ on my way home, but the snow…" she sighed. "It reminds me of _him_."

She looked at him then, with eyes such a startling shade of cerulean, eyes he hadn't seen in five hundred years.

He found her in the snow.

And the first thing that occurred to him was…

'_She's a fallen angel.'_

And for the first time, the Lord Sesshomaru began to believe.

***~~~*** THE END ***~~~***


End file.
